Anne Arundel County man indicted on massive Philippines sex trafficking ring
By Tara Lynch
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BALTIMORE (WJZ) — An Anne Arundel County man now faces a 15-count federal indictment for his role in a sex trafficking ring based in the Philippines.
Philip Andrew Turner, 46, is charged with five counts of sexual exploitation of a child, four counts of coercion and enticement, three counts of receipt of child pornography, and two counts of possession of child pornography.
Turner was arraigned on Friday before a federal judge and is currently being held at the Chesapeake Detention Facility in Baltimore City. He was taken into federal custody on Nov. 6 after a complaint was filed.
According to the federal indictment, Turner used an online account to connect with known traffickers in the Philippines. This started in October 2017 and happened as recently as May 2025.
The indictment accuses him of “using the internet to persuade, induce, entice and coerce USER 1 [the trafficker] and the minor females to engage in sexually explicit conduct. Court documents say the victims were between 10 and 14 years old.
The feds say Turner negotiated the price for the content with the sex traffickers, chose the children he wanted to watch, and the sex acts he wanted to see. He allegedly received child sexual abuse images, saving them online and on his laptop. He also had live Skype calls with victims while they engaged in sexually explicit conduct, according to court documents.
Neighbors shocked in Linthicum Heights According to neighbors, Turner lived on Hawthorne Road for about 10 years. His neighbors told WJZ that they rarely interacted with him and that he kelp to himself.
“You either hear about it on the news or you know you read it about it on social media, but you have it happening on your street is …awful,” Kim Hill, who lives across the street, said. “We have, probably in the past two years, had quite a few families move in with little kids… I’ll even be more protective.”
TurnAround, Inc. is a local organization helping victims of sex crimes and trafficking. It says social media and the internet have made these types of crimes more common.
“It is unfortunately becoming very common because of the ease with which it can be facilitated online, and the kind of material can be exchanged,” Jean Henningsen, chief communications officer for the organization, said.
Prior charge in Anne Arundel County Cellphone video shows when Anne Arundel County and state investigators raided Turner’s home at the end of October before the federal charges were brought. On Oct. 28, Maryland State Police arrested Turner, charging him with child pornography, possession of child pornography, and other related charges.
In 2024, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) began investigating several individuals in Maryland connected to a sex trafficking ring in the Philippines. The traffickers allowed people to direct the sexual exploitation of minors via a live camera feed.
Investigators focused on Turner, alleging he directed juvenile females to engage in child pornography globally.
He faces a 15 to 30-year sentence for each count of sexual exploitation of a child. If convicted on the first five counts alone, Turner could face a minimum of 75 years in federal prison and a maximum of 150 years behind bars.
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